HOW TO BE YOUR OWN MARRIAGE COUNSELOR

by ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1980

Homespun tips from a doctor's family practice: harmless enough, if a bit selective. The topics are tackled in three parts: phases of marriage (where we go from the children's infancy to their leaving home in two pages); common problems (and some not so common, like ""Marriage in Which One Mate Has Been Transplanted from His Native Environment""); and golden rules to follow assiduously. Venditti believes that the marriage contract is forever, and he tries to get prospective couples to take the whole thing seriously--by talking, about expectations beforehand, airing prospective problems like infidelity, taking birth-control planning into account before the wedding day. Yet because he tries to cover such a wide field, he is left with bare branches on a lot of topics: partners consumed by jealousy, for example, are simply advised to ""diagnose"" and ""treat"" their problem, eliciting outside help if need be; more specific guidelines are conspicuously absent. And ""golden rules"" like ""Don't Abuse Alcohol"" and ""Don't Intentionally Bore or Irritate Each Other"" will probably dissuade few offenders. For the youngest and most starry-eyed future mates only.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Seabury

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION